The men, who have name suppression, appeared in the Invercargill District Court today for having sexual conduct with a child, possessing objectionable material and distributing objectionable material.
The pair earlier admitted to taking explicit photos of a child and having more than 400 child exploitation images between them.
Judge Russell Walker sentenced the worst of the two offenders to four years and three months’ imprisonment and the other to four years’ imprisonment.
A few years ago their illegal online activity was detected and investigation revealed that the men were downloading and distributing child exploitation material.
“Not only does this offending include obtaining objectionable images of unknown victims, there is also an identifiable victim here,” Crown Prosecutor Amy Alcock said.
“This is highly premeditated offending by both defendants.”
The court heard the less culpable defendant blamed his co-defendant entirely for the offending.
“He just simply doesn't acknowledge that there was a sexual interest in children,” Ms Alcock said.
The other defendant also claimed the offending was not sexually motivated.
Counsel Gerard Walsh and Melissa James both pointed to the fact that neither defendant had similar prior convictions.
The court heard the defendants had been on straight bail since their arrest and counsel advocated for sentences of home detention to be imposed.
Judge Walker described the offending as “extreme and disturbing”.
“All of those children were vulnerable and defenceless,” the judge said.
“The victim is revictimised each and every time the image is viewed on the internet.”
He remarked that the child who was photographed would not have known that he was being cruelly used in the way he was.
The defendants were supported by family members who sat in the public gallery throughout the hearing.
Both men were automatically registered as child sex offenders.
